Daily Times

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) are neck and neck in the contest for the NA-122 by-election and it is premature to say who will win the coveted seat. Electioneering by the stalwarts of both political parties has reached its peak in the provincial capital. Both the parties are hopeful of sweeping the by-election and using all available resources to convince voters to favour them. Amid all this hullaballoo of election campaigns, there are certain positive and negative points for the main contenders. The masses have genuine grievances against the PML-N government that has failed to come up to its promises that it had made during its election campaign in 2013. There is no respite from load shedding while Ayaz Sadiq failed to take care of the residents of his constituency after becoming the Speaker of the National Assembly. The PML-N is also facing the wrath of the business community as well as the downtrodden masses. Since it came to power, the PML-N government focused on large development projects at the cost of other basic amenities. The PML-N has failed to deliver in the education, health and energy sectors that might lead to it failing to win in NA-122 again. The PML-N needs to address public grievances, if it wants to win their trust.

On the other hand, PTI chief Imran Khan is wary of rigging during the October 11 by-election in Lahore under the present set-up of the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). He never misses any opportunity to accuse the PML-N of committing rigging in elections with the help of the state machinery and ECP. The PTI’s politics continue to betray signs of immaturity and its chief has not learnt any lesson from his past follies. So far, the track record of the PTI is very poor with respect to winning by-elections due to the contradictions in the PTI’s policies. It is very unfortunate that the PTI leadership has no trust on the democratic system and its institutions. Imran Khan has made a childish demand that the army should supervise the shifting of vote bags from booths to returning officers. Imran’s policies of making the army a party in every democratic process lack wisdom. It is becoming a pattern in our country, which is not new, that the army is being portrayed as a messiah and a solution to all ills in society. The role of the army should not be politicised in the larger national interest. Politicians like Imran Khan facilitate military coups and then lament their acts. This vicious circle of hankering for civilian democratic and military dictatorships in turn has been a hallmark of our political history. The democratic system has never been allowed to consolidate. Rather, it has often been interrupted by military takeovers. This is one of the reasons that our country has always been stuck in a political quagmire. Politicians need to learn from history and make joint efforts to strengthen democracy instead of seeking the army’s intervention in politics. The civilian government should be allowed to continue its work. If there are grievances against the civilian set-up, efforts should be made that these are addressed in a democratic way. Instead of repeating past mistakes, politicians need to demonstrate some maturity and should allow the system to work. How can democracy deliver, if it is interrupted again and again? At least there should be continuity in the democratic system and the PTI chief should reconsider his demands of seeking the army’s role in every democratic process.

Amid electioneering for the coveted seat, there are reports that huge investments are being made by the rival political parties to buy votes and ensure the victory of their respective candidates. Unfortunately, it has become a negative trend in our society that politicians build their vote banks by using their wealth. The media, civil society and citizens need to resist such tactics used by politicians. In using money, politicians win elections for personal gains instead of public welfare. Instead of seeking the ‘third party’s’ help and using money to win elections, the political parties need to act democratically and win the masses’ support through public welfare projects instead of making false claims of becoming their saviour. *